(no subject)

[mereilin]

"Why isn't your nose 12 inches long?" I asked Sadie as we walked her to school today.

"Because I amn't Pinocchio!" she crowed.

Comments

[sharpwords.livejournal.com]

Because if it was, it would be a foot! *rimshot sound effect*

Nice to hear the use of "amn't" outside this part of the world, anyway!

[mereilin.livejournal.com]

Oh! Do people really say that? You never, ever hear it here.

I just can't bear to correct her because it's so damned cute. But more importantly, she figured that word out on her own when she was about 3 and I was so proud that she understood contractions!

[sharpwords.livejournal.com]

Yep, "amn't" would be in use in the west of Ireland particularly - maybe other regions too, but my friend who I hear using it every now and again is from County Mayo. It's not the regular alternative to "I'm not", just an occasional one.
Not generally used in England and Wales though, dunno about Scotland.

So well done Sadie! :)

[sharpwords.livejournal.com]

Forgot to mention that I think it's more prevelant in areas that would have Irish as a common first language; a lot of the sentence constructions used in Ireland by English speakers would derive from those used in the Irish language (likewise in Welsh, definitely), and I wonder if "amn't" has come from second-language English speakers...